Association of lichen planopilaris with cardiovascular and metabolic disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Lichen planopilaris (LPP) is among the most common types of immune-mediated scarring alopecia. Observational studies have reported conflicting findings regarding the association of LPP with different comorbidities. Objectives We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to elucidate the association between LPP and different cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. Methods We systematically searched four electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library) for relevant studies published from their inception to 1 August 2024. A random-effects model was used to perform a pooled analysis and calculate odds ratios or incidence rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Results The meta-analysis included 10 case–control studies involving 7516 patients with LPP and 64 719 097 controls. The results demonstrated no significant associations between LPP and hypertension, diabetes mellitus or hyperlipidaemia. The results of the pooled analyses also revealed that patients with LPP did not have significantly higher risks of obesity or heart failure than did controls. All pooled analyses revealed high levels of heterogeneity across the studies, but no significant publication bias was detected. Conclusions LPP is not significantly associated with most cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia, obesity and heart failure.